The Official Sylvia Sweater Crochet-Along

When our call for submissions for the Fall 2012 issue of Interweave Crochet went out, we included a story for "the essential cardigan". Well, without question, cardigans are my absolute favorite of garments. Here in Colorado, we are now amidst the part of Fall where a shirt is not enough and a coat is too much. I can throw a cardigan over a top and it's the perfect instant outfit. When Winter approaches (and it usually approaches rapidly and without much warning), a cardigan is the best way to layer for extra warmth. So I knew this had to be my queue to design MY essential crocheted cardigan. The result is the Sylvia Sweater:

Since I like feminine cuts with a little bit of special detail, I made a fitted, scoop-neck cardigan with set-in sleeves and crocheted chain stitch embroidery. The Sylvia Sweater is a great beginner crochet garment, as it features an easily memorable stitch pattern and just a bit of waist shaping. It is meant to be worn with little to no ease, but if you want something a little less fitted, you could either eliminate the waist shaping (you'll be able to crochet it in the blink of an eye!), or just go up one size. It's crocheted with The Fibre Co. Canopy Worsted, a luscious, smoosh-able blend of alpaca, merino, and bamboo that is available in quite a lovely palette of colors.

The picture above shows it with a great every day sort of outfit, but I think the trim also makes it a perfect pairing for holiday party dresses. You could even add some beads for extra sass! So, pick up your hook and yarn, the Fall issue of Interweave Crochet, and come crochet-along with me! I'll be here in the Forum to answer questions, give advice, ogle yarn...whatever.

I finally got started on this lovely sweater, now that all the Christmas gifts are finally done. It's coming along very quickly. It's my first crocheted sweater.

I'm making size 32 out of Galway worsted in burgundy. Unfortunately I won't have enough because I originally bought the wool for another, aborted project, but I'm planning on doing the ribbing and bands in either grey or navy blue (haven't decided which yet).

I've been having to make some adjustments to the pattern after the increases as written because the beginning of each row seems to change as I increase from an odd number of stitches to an even number, for example, and to keep the stitch count right. It seems to be working out.

Just to clarify, because it doesn't say in the pattern: the top shoulder shaping for the front is done on the armhole side, not the neck side, correct?

Thanks for the pattern. I'll no doubt be back with more questions when it's time to attach the ribbing and bands!

So glad you are beginning this cardigan! I had worked ahead on mine, but am now "on schedule" as I set mine aside for holiday projects, too. You are correct that the increases happen on different numbered rows, so sometimes there is a ch-1 that needs to get added in when it does not explicitly say so. I think it just says "work in pattern", but sometimes "work in pattern" needs to include a ch-1 first.

And yes, the top shoulder shaping for the front is done on the armhole side I can't wait to see your finished project! I'll get pictures of my almost-finished one, too :)

Aaaand now I'm way behind. I had nearly completed the left front when I realized that, despite reading through all the instructions carefully and everything, I had misunderstood where the neck is supposed to start. And also that I had measured the armhole length from the wrong place, so I had to rip out the stitches for the other two pieces. It wouldn't have been so bad for the back, except that when I was shaping the new shoulder line I realized that the count was off. By a lot. I don't know how I missed that the first time, but it turns out I completely muffed up the armhole shaping on one side. So I had to rip out many, many more rows. Ugh.

BTW, for size 32, the last increase happens on an odd row, not an even one. If you follow the pattern as printed, that means the 2 sc in the ch-1 space happens on the centre edge, not the side edge like the other increases. I did it as written on the right front and it looks wonky. When I crocheted the left front, I made sure to put the increase in the ch-1 sp closest to the side edge, and the centre line is nice and straight. I'll fix it on the right side -- I have to rip the whole armhole out anyway due to the neck starting too high and because apparently I can't follow directions and seriously messed up the armhole on that piece. So I'll just rip it back a few more rows.

As my department head used to say when I came back from my "challenging" class during my first year of teaching: I am learning so much from crocheting this sweater! Mostly about paying attention to what the heck I'm doing and not to get cocky.

Oh, do you know roughly how much yarn goes into each sleeve? I have a horrible feeling I'll have to make them shorter than written because I'm going to run out of wool, and I'd like to head that off. I'd rather not have to rip back more than I have to, because that process is, quite frankly, losing its charm.